Former India speedster Javagal Srinath thinks India have a "more balanced bowling attack in the longest format" compared to South Africa which will provide them the edge in the upcoming four-Test series starting November 5.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Trailing 1-2 in the series, India have some concerns with most batsmen not showing enough flexibility at different batting positions.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the Indian team for the limited overs tour of Zimbabwe starting June 11, while top stars like Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been rested.
The verdict for the week.
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Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 1 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka.
Yuvraj Singh made it back to the Indian team for the limited overs series against Australia but seniors Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were again ignored.
match practice' After making another comeback to international cricket with aplomb, veteran pacer Ashish Nehra dismissed the age-related criticism, saying a practice match is all what he needs to get into the groove.
A fiery spell of fast bowling from Mitchell Starc and Varun Aaron followed by Chris Gayle's quickfire half-century helped Royal Challengers Bangalore crush Delhi Daredevils by a convincing 10-wicket victory in the Indian Premier League match at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in New Delhi, on Sunday.
High on confidence after convincing victories in their previous games, both Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore will seek the winning momentum when they face off in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
India's spinners have been a handful at home in recent years.
Shikhar Dhawan's poor technique in testing conditions along with the fitness status of Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin will come up for discussion when the selectors pick the Indian team for the two-Test series against the West Indies.
The Virat Kohli-led team must take inspiration from the last trip to Sri Lanka, in 2010, when India beat Sri Lanka by five wickets, thanks to hundreds from Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.
The hits and misses of the week.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to outgun title-contenders, Gujarat Lions in a must-win Indian Premier League clash.
Rangana Herath picked up seven wickets in a sublime display of left-arm spin bowling to power Sri Lanka to a spectacular comeback win by 63 runs against India on the fourth day of the opening test at Galle on Saturday.
In major embarrassment for the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the International Cricket Council rated the track at the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground in Nagpur, on which the third Test between India and South Africa was played, as "poor", triggering a review of the performance of the pitch under the ICC Pitch Monitoring Process.
India paid the price for some poor shot selection as New Zealand clinched the fourth cricket ODI by 19 runs to level five-match series 2-2 in Ranchi on Wednesday. - Scorecard: Chasing a target of 281 on a slow track, India were on course at 128 for 2 before a sudden middle-order collapse saw them lose four quick wickets as they were finally all-out for 241 in 48.4 overs. This was India's first loss at skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's home ground in all the international matches that they have played so far.
Adequate security measures have been put in place by the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) and Rajkot Rural Police ahead of the first T20 match to be played between India and Australia at Khanderi stadium in Rajkot on October 10.
With India being outplayed in the Twenty20s, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will face added pressure to perform and lead India from the front against a formidable South African unit in the five-match ODI cricket series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.
Check out detailed statistics of the Indian team for South Africa ODIs.
India's World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten termed Indian cricket team as an "incredibly strong unit which opponents will find it tough to beat" during the upcoming mega event starting February 14.
India beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets to take an assailable 3-0 lead in the five match ODI series at Harare Sports Club ground on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the surprise inclusion in India's One-Day International squad for the first three matches of the forthcoming series against West Indies.
Deepak Chahar's heroics (four wickets in an over) went in vain as Rajasthan went down by 1 run
A humdinger on cards as South Africa chase first series win in India
Riding high after an emphatic victory against Kings XI Punjab, a rejuvenated Delhi Daredevils will aim at posing a serious challenge to a formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two teams square off in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Former Pakistan leg-spin legend Abdul Qadir says he would have also liked to see leg-spinners like Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla in the team since India does not have intimidating pace bowlers.
Apart from Sangma, 11 other cabinet ministers were also sworn in by the governor.
Pacer Mohammad Shami, who is recuperating after shoulder surgery, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, back with a re-modelled action, are among 30 players named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's senior selection committee for a preparatory camp ahead of the South African team's upcoming tour of India.
On a high after sealing the series with comprehensive victories, an upbeat India will be aiming to complete a 3-0 rout in order to retain it's No 1 Test ranking, when they meet a listless West Indies in the final Test match of the series in Port of Spain on Thursday. Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series after their crushing 237-run win in the third Test, Virat Kohli and his men will be aiming to go for the kill and keep their top ranking in Test. India were reinstated as the No.1 Test side after Australia 0-3 whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka.
Middle-order batsman Suresh Raina made a comeback to the team fold after the newly appointed senior selection committee announced their India squad for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Their World Cup build-up halted by West Indies team's sudden mid-series pullout, India would resume the preparations for the mega-event when they square off against under-cooked sub-continental rivals Sri Lanka in a hastily-arranged ODI series starting in Cuttack on Sunday.
A confident India, with a new coach at the helm, will seek to record a third consecutive Test series triumph on the Caribbean soil when the Virat Kohli-led side clashes with an inexperienced West Indies in the first cricket match, in Antigua, on Thursday.
A staggering 20 wickets fell on a dramatic day as India shot out South Africa for a record-low first innings score of 79 before setting the visitors a formidable target of 310 to win the third and penultimate cricket Test and clinch the series.
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